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WESTPORT, Minn. - A group of House of Representatives members were featured guests at a tour of Malecha Dairy near Westport, Minn., on Aug. 15. The focus of the tour was to educate non-rural members about the dairy, while also advocating for better policy at the Capitol.
Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck) commented to the crowd before the tours began, "When I grew up, we milked 15 cows, and on this dairy farm they milk around 900 cows each day. Agriculture has definitely changed over the past two generations, but we still face the challenge of educating people that milk doesn't just magically appear at the local grocery store."
Minnesota Milk Producers Association executive director Bob Lefebvre urged dairy farmers to share their stories with non-milk producers.
"Educating the public has to be one of our number one priorities," Lefebvre stated.
MMPA has a program available that can assist dairy farmers in creating brochures that describe their respective operations.
"It's important to have something like that to hand out to people so they can learn about dairying today," he said.
Other priorities listed by Lefebvre included legislation on raw milk sales on farms and the Livestock Investment Grant Program as well as environmental permitting and review for new or expanding operations.
A final priority Lefebvre listed was MMPA's "Healthy Choices in Schools" initiative that supports a healthy school environment which improves access to foods contributing to a healthy diet such as high-quality milk and limited access to unhealthy choices such as soda.
"Dairy options, including flavored milk, provide students with important nutrients including calcium and Vitamins A and D," Lefebvre noted. "It's important that the state encourages that high quality milk and flavored milk be presented in the school lunch line alongside other healthy beverages."
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